Always Mine (Love in Eden 1)

I kept my back to Brooks as I stood and pulled on my pants. I could hear the survival blanket moving rapidly, but I wasn't sure if it was because Brooks was trying to put more space between us or if he was trying to cover more of himself up. It didn't matter, the spell had been broken.

"What—what are you doing here? Where are we?" Brooks asked. The blanket shifted some more and then he said, "What the fuck did you do to me?"

I glanced over my shoulder at him and saw that he was looking beneath the blanket, probably only realizing then that he was naked. The way he looked at me after that made me want to throw up. Did he really think that I was so evil that I’d touch him in such a way? Rape had been as commonplace in prison as drugs and contraband. Fortunately, I'd been big enough, strong enough, and resilient enough to avoid that particular injustice. But plenty of guys had tried it early on when I’d first arrived. And I’d heard the screams of those who hadn’t been able to fight their attackers off. The fact that Brooks was comparing me to men like that in any kind of way…

Sure, I liked being rough with guys, but the things I did to them were always with their permission, their blessing… I made sure of that.

The Brooks I’d known as a kid would have known I wasn’t capable of hurting another person in that way. Of course, the Brooks I’d known as a kid wouldn’t have believed me capable of attempted murder, either.

I yanked my jeans up, then grabbed my bag and tossed it at him. "There's some spare clothes in there," I snapped. "Get dressed. Your uncle is going crazy with worry for you. The longer we stay up here, the more likely he is to come up here after you himself. You might be okay with him risking his own life to save your sorry one, but I'm not. You're not fucking worth it."

The words were a lie, but I made sure I said them in a way I knew he’d believe me. It was a low blow, but I didn't care. He’d gone after something about me that only he'd known… that I'd never wanted to turn out like my own father. That I’d never wanted to use violence against another human being. Just like I'd known how hard it had been for him to live in his father's shadow, to never measure up. So yeah, I was fighting fire with fire. But I wasn't the one who’d started playing grab ass.

I left the tent to check on my horse. Grover had actually belonged to Del. The sure-footed buckskin quarter horse was levelheaded, loyal, and would go for as long as you asked him to. I'd been touched that Curtis would entrust the horse to my care. I wouldn't have felt comfortable going up the mountain after Brooks with any other mount besides Grover.

I ran my hands over Grover's body to make sure he hadn’t sustained any injuries the night before. The rain had stopped and the sun had returned, so it was easy to scan the horse for any marks or cuts. I was relieved to find that Grover seemed okay. I patted his neck and said, "Just a few more hours, buddy. We'll get Mr. Ungrateful down the mountain and then we'll get you all cleaned up."

I took my time getting Grover tacked up. When Brooks didn't come out of the tent, I swatted my hand against it impatiently and snapped, "Let's go."

It seemed to take forever for Brooks to come out and when he did, he was quiet and nervous and wouldn’t look me in the eye.

Which was just fine by me, because all I really wanted to do was get out of there.

I worked quickly to pack up the tent and all the other supplies we'd used overnight. Thunder rumbled off in the distance, so I knew we would need to hurry. No way in hell I wanted to get caught in another rainstorm with him.

"Can I help?" Brooks asked timidly. I wasn't sure if he was afraid of me or embarrassed or a little bit of both. I had no doubt he’d go back on the attack at some point, especially with the way he’d woken up and the accusations he’d already thrown my way.

"No, you'll just get in the way." I snatched a protein bar and some jerky from my bag along with my water bottle and tossed them to him. Not surprisingly, he didn't catch any of it. Of course, it would've been easier just to hand the things to him since he was only a few feet away, but I supposed the vindictive part of me had wanted to embarrass him. "Let's go," I snapped. "Another storm is coming this way."